Tumblr Prompts
by 60sec400
Summary: A series of prompts, oneshots, and short stories from my tumblr! First chapter: The Batboys goes on a Roadtrip. Mostly take place in the YJ verse but I'll pull from the comics as well. Feel free to drop a prompt!
1. The Roadtrip

**Prompt from my tumblr:** **Anonymous asked: Hi! I love you and all your work and it's so freaking good and I just melt every time. For a Batfamily prompt, what about a good old fashioned car ride with the batboys? Karaoke, QT pit stops, the AC breaking at the worst possible time, ya know, the works? Please and thank you, and please don't feel pressured to write this! I totally get it it you have no inspiration for it.**

* * *

"Grayson, we have to stop right now."

Dick glances at Damian through the rearview mirror, blinking a little as the sun hits his face. It's the second night of their road trip cross country, and so far it's remained peacefully quiet. Everyone is either sleeping or working on something, and they had only left the previous night. Today was the first full day. They're actually headed back to Gotham, and Dick thought it'd be fun to ride the van back instead of the jet.

They wouldn't be here if Alfred hadn't been fond of the idea.

"What?" he whispered back, because Jason was sleeping next to him in the passenger seat, and Tim looked like he was knocked out.

"We have to stop. Right. Now," Damian hissed, leaning forward to grab Dick's seat and pull it back.

"Do you… do you have to pee?" Dick asked, glancing back again.

"No, just pull over!"

Dick sighed, pulling the car over and blinking away sleep from his eyes. It wasn't too late, but he'd been the one volunteered to drive because, well, he'd suggested it. So he'd been driving from Jump City all the way to wherever they were now. Damian hurriedly opened the door of the van, grabbing the backpack at his feet, and leapt out of the car. It was then that Dick finally stopped a moment to actually look outside of the window. They'd made it out past the Rockies and the sun was setting behind them. It cast the whole landscape into dark gold and blue. They'd been driving on the edge of a canyon, the road a straight shot.

Damian sprinted out toward the edge of the cliff, plopping down on the ground and grabbing out a notepad— no, the sketchbook, from his backpack.

Dick grinned softly to himself and, turning off the car, got out. Jason and Tim would be safe, and fine so long as they didn't speak. So Dick got out and went to sit behind Damian, watching the sun set and watching his brother paint the mountains with his pastels.

"You could've just said you had to draw it," Dick said quietly.

"I'm not simply drawing it, Grayson," Damain replied, "I am observing my surroundings and making an acute observation based on color and light."

"It looks good," Dick said with a grin.

Damian paused. "Thank you."

As the sun descended further behind the mountains, it cast long shadows across the landscape. The plants turned glaring green-orange and the sand was a deep blue and all the colors shifted to look like a painting, like Damian's. Dick thought about traveling like he used to with family, and smiled at the thought. Maybe he should ask Damian for the painting as a reminder of traveling with a new family.

Stars began to peak out in the sky and everything was lit of a fiery red before, at least, the sun was gone behind the mountains. Darkness shifted in— but it wasn't the same darkness like Gotham. It wasn't creeping or heavy. This was a soft darkness, like Damian's ink washes or like blue shadows and bright lights. Dick felt calm and relaxed, and as he laid back in the dirt and sand he almost wished to just fall asleep.

But then a car door opening and slamming shut made his eyes snap open. Footsteps crunching the rocks and brushing past shrubs made him wake up.

"Why the hell did we stop?"

"Damian was observing the landscape," Dick replied, "So I stopped the car. I was hoping you'd stay asleep."

Jason grumbled something or the other and went to sit on Dick's other side. He'd covered himself in a blanket, a gift no doubt from Stephanie or Alfred, and had it held tightly around his shoulder like a cape. Dick wanted to comment, but Jason was tired and he didn't want to risk an upset Jay for the next day, or get pushed off the cliff.

Damian has moved onto doing some other type of sketches, and Dick doesn't feel like rushing him. He can do as many sketches as he wants, because it's a warm summer night and the stars a bright and he thinks he can see the milky-way if he focuses hard enough. Jason pointed up into the sky.

"That bright light up there, that's… uh… Venus, I think," he said. "I read a book once on Astronomy. Somewhere in B's library or something, I don't know. Um… there's… Jupiter right there."

The light is a little brighter, bluer too, than the other one.

"I'm ready," Damian called out, packing up Mary Grayson's old sketchbook* and swinging his backpack over his shoulder.

They all silently pile into the car. Tim is still sleeping. None of them talk either, not sure what to say. Dick wonders about the books Jason has read and about all the paintings Damian's done that he's never seen and about how much he knows about art and he thinks about how glad he is for Tim to be getting some sleep.

The next morning they're all awake, the radio silently playing music. Tim is working on a case and Damian has his music in. Jason has his arms crossed, leaning against the window and glaring out at the cacti as if they'd been the ones to force him in the van. Dick mind-numbingly flips back between several stations before Jason finally shuts the radio off.

"It's annoying," he said without waiting for Dick to say anything.

"Well now you have to sing for me."

"I'm not singing worth shit."

"Jason, I have to be entertained somehow."

"Unless you want some Enya up in this bitch—."

Dick blinked, a small grin crawling across his face. "You memorized Enya?"

He glanced over to find Jason's face a bright red. The boy had almost completely turned away from Dick now, trying to hide it, but Dick feels laughter bubbling up in his stomach.

"Please, Jay. Little Wing. Jason. Jaybird. You memorized _Enya?_ I have to know!" Dick exclaims.

"What'd Todd do?"

"How can you even memorize Enya?" Tim asked in the back.

"I learned the one song from Lord of the Rings. I liked the book and it was in the movies so… shut up," Jason practically shouts, exploding in the front seat of the car, arms going wide in the little space as he can.

Dick burst out laughing. "Okay! Okay! I won't ask you to sing it. But the next question is. How long did that take?"

They can all feel the anticipation in the car. Damian takes out his headphones and Tim actually shuts down his laptop and leans forward. Jason rubs his forward, pushing white bangs and black strands from his face.

"Two days," he mumbled.

"Two days!" Dick exclaimed, laughing. "You learned a fictional language in two days!"

"I think I'm impressed. Do you know Klingon too?" Tim asked, smirking.

"What's Klingon?" Damian asked, oblivious.

"Shut up!" Jason growled, snapping the hook on the seat up and sliding the chair back to slim into Tim's knees. Thankfully the boy lifted his legs up and slammed his fist on the back of Jason's car.

"Hey!"

"Okay, okay!" Dick laughed. "Enough, enough. Leave Jason alone, he has to work on his _Narnian._

"Oh, shove off," Jason muttered, face still bright red.

Dick grinned. Nothing like a good road trip.


	2. Close Call

**Tumblr Prompt:** **Damian is almost shot by Black Mask, and afterwards Jason is there to comfort his younger brother.**

 **Note: Takes place somewhere in the comics, probably.**

* * *

"Move over, punk."

Damian begrudgingly shifted away from Jason, folding his arms in his lap and pouting. The older boy plopped down on the couch, arms crossed and looking away from Damian as he opened his mouth to speak.

Damian didn't let him. "I'm fine."

"You picked that up from circus boy, you're not fine," Todd retorted, scowling up at the faded ceiling like it was the one who'd been dangling off of a roof by Black Mask. "You're still shaking."

Damian curled his hands into fists and looked away, gritting his teeth. He hadn't been scared, he'd been more embarrassed than anything else. Especially because Gotham's lovely news had aired half the thing; that, and Damian had almost been executed point blank before Red Hood had showed up and slammed the butt of his .22 into Black Mask's stupid emo mask.

Damian didn't try to mess things up on his own. He was certain that if he went off and tried to pull a mission he'd been trained, as in the training he'd received most of his life, he's succeed. But this had been done out of rebellion, and the hero-gig was still all so different. "It was an accident," Damian said, realizing the silence was stretching on too long.

Todd rolled his eyes. "Accidents happen, kid. Get over it. Are you okay?"

Damian thought about that for a moment. Was he okay? No, probably not. He was embarrassed and his ankles hurt and he knew he had a terrible bruise forming on his shoulder. He'd almost gotten shot in the head twice; the bullet missed the first time and then Todd had been there. Damian hadn't expected to see Hood there at all; in fact, in the darkness of Gotham's lovely eastside neighborhood, he'd briefly thought it was Grayson that had come to his aid.

But Grayson was gone, and Batman was angry at him.

Todd sighed. "Listen, Damian."

The boy looked up at Jason, surprised by the usage of his name. Normally, Todd avoided familiarity like that (a similarity they both held, to Damian's annoyance), but it seemed serious now.

"We all make mistakes. Accidents happen from those mistakes. B will be mad at you for a bit, yeah, but it's not like I ever did anything that dumb, or Dick didn't do anything wildly stupid either. Um…," Todd looked away, "Fuck it," he softly whispered. The older boy turned and reached forward to awkwardly hug Damian and surprisingly, the boy didn't mind. He instantly relaxed, finding that the added comfort was much better than any words anyone could say to him. They were like that for some time, and Damian drifted in and out of sleep.

"You'll be okay, alright kid?" Jason said quietly, moving the blanket Damian had wrapped around himself to cover both their legs.

Damian wasn't sure if he replied or not, but it didn't matter. He would be okay. He'd be alright.

* * *

 **My tumblr is thetrackrunner! Hit me up for some prompts!**


	3. Destiny Had Other Plans

**Prompt: Talon!Dick?**

 **Talon!Dick Grayson and the Batboys trying to bring him back. They're all just trying to save each other in their own weird ways.**

* * *

Talon holds up his sword, half turned away from the three members of Batman's posse. The smallest one, Robin— his mother's pet name for him, a part of his brain fondly remembers— reaches forward, hands outstretched and his face scrunched up as if he were trying to keep from crying. The one in the Red Hood, Talon vaguely recalls his name starting with a J, pulls Robin's shoulders back, keeping the youngest firmly in place. They are all on the edge of a roof. It's nondescript, grey, black, blue. There's no fading sunlight or silver lit moon. There's neon and car lights and silence.

The one in the middle, Red Robin or Red something, (he's some odd mix between the other two), is rigid. Talon determines it's not a rigidity that is a preparedness to fight, but one of someone who is unsure of what to do with their body. Talon knows to be a warrior, one must relax completely, every muscle in the body must be completely still. The Court has trained him that way. So that's what he does.

Talon drops his shoulders and rolls out his neck, moving to place both hands on his sword. He won't fight like that, it's not proper for this type of weapon, but he wants to intimidate them. He wants them to come at him, but he's not sure why. They're not yet on the Courts list, not like the Batman is, because they think if they kill the Batman and these others will cease and desist. Talon isn't so sure, but it's not his place to state his opinions.

"Dick?" the taller one asks. His voice isn't soft, or lost. But he sounds tired and frustrated and longing.

Talon doesn't hesitate. Some part of him call the Red Hood 'rude' in his head; he is undeniably offended but also not, because part of it feels like he should only be offended mockingly. The bigger part, the Court part, tells him to sit and wait. He doesn't do either. His response is something in between. "You must end this."

The younger boy lurches backwards at his voice, the whites of his mask squinting down in anger. His fists curl up and he leans forward on his toes. But he keeps his mouth shut. Good, Talon thinks, it wouldn't do him well to murder the boy right off the bat.

Ha. Bat.

"End what?" Red Robin questions. His voice is softer than Hood's, less strong. A car passes in the distance. They're all sweating. It's hot and humid and the air feels thick and soggy.

Talon purses his lips below the mask. He should just kill the Batman assailants. But not all of them are there; there is the Batwoman, as well as Black Bat and Batgirl, and the other associate, Batwing. It would do Talon well to take out these four now and get rid of the others. There's no reason to warn them, to allow them to take off the mask and never look back. But he feels that he should at least give them a chance. He knows he has too. Deny it all he wants, he knows he has to.

So, instead, he says, "End this all. The Court protects Gotham. Your services are not required." He keeps his voice flat and even.

"God," Hood breathes, "What'd they do?"

"Services?" the youngest, Robin, finally speaks. Talon tried to ignore him. "It is our duty—."

"Continued association with Batman means death," Talon interrupted, turning visibly so they could all see him look at them. "The Court has sentenced him to die."

"Why are you warning us?" Hood snaps, but Talon can see there is no anger there.

"He knows us, Jay," Red Robin whispers.

Talon opens his mouth to disagree, but he knows it's the truth. Not a full truth, but a truth nonetheless. But it is far too late for him. He's trying to tell them to leave, to get out. Save themselves. He backs up to the edge of the roof, still holding his sword. "Don't let yourselves die as well," he warns.

"We were the best Grayson!" Robin, Damian(?) yells, pushing past Hood. He is so close to Talon's sword, and both Hood and Red Robin lunge forward, protective of the younger boy. Scared Talon will kill him. They are scared of him.

Talon lowers the sword slowly, and the night stills. "Destiny had other plans." And then he was gone.

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 **Check out my tumblr at thetrackrunner! I'm accepting prompts!**


	4. The Places You'll Find Me Hiding

**Summary:** Robin is injured on the job with the team. Wally worries they can't get him back in time. Dick wakes up in the hospital. The cave. He's not sure. It's hazy. He feels fuzzy. Three months have passed.

 **Anonymous asked:** Could you write something set in season one or around then of young justice where dick gets almost fatally injured and the team doesn't know if they can get him help in time? Maybe the tram's reaction and dick brushing it off as nothing when he wakes up (cause he's a self sacrificing moron)

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Robin leaned down, not worrying about the dirt. His costume was already ripped and shredded in a few places and the last thing he needed to worry about was more dirt. This one was probably done in anyway. It didn't make a difference. The little girl looked up at him, brown eyes hidden behind soot and dust. They'd just evacuated a bunch of civilians from a hazard zone, right as a bomb went off. They still hadn't located the girl's parents, something that was causing him great worry and guilt. So he found himself leaning down to become eye level with her.

"Hi," he said, smiling a little. He must've looked terrifying, what with all the dirt on his face, because she blinked and turned her face away, her mouth stretching down into a thin line. He cleared his throat. He could feel the team moving around him. He could hear the sirens and people talking, but he couldn't. He was focused right now. Because this was a kid, another kid, who was sitting around sirens and a crime scene with a blanket on them and no parents around to make everything better.

Wind blew around them, tossing dust from his hair.

He tried again.

" _Once I was happy, but now I'm forlorn_ ," he begins to sing, trying to keep his voice steady. He clears his throat dramatically. "Whoa, whoa. Bad, bad, bad tune. Lemme try again." He made a real effort to make his throat clearing loud. The girl looks back up at him.

 _"Once I was happy, but now I'm forlorn/ Like an old coat that is… tattered,"_ he brings his hands to his chest in woe, _"and worn. Left on this world to fret and to mourn/ Betrayed."_ A pause. _"By a maid."_ Another pause. _"In her teens."_

The little girl giggles, covering her mouth to stifle the laugh.

 _"The girl that I loved she was handsome and swell/ And I tried all I knew her to please,"_ he turns his face down in pretend sadness, cupping his hands around his cheeks. " _But I could not please her one quarter so well/ As the man… on the flying trapeze."_ He drags the word out, turning his frown into a smile. The girl had her attention fully on him, her lips parted in a slight 'O'. Her eyes are wide with wonder.

Robin springs into the air, throwing his arms up, and smiles. " _He'd fly through the air with the greatest of ease! That daring young man on the flying trapeze!"_ He twirls around in a circle, landing on one knee and holding his hand out to the little girl. " _His movements were graceful, all girls he could please/ And my love he purloined away!_ Now, that's a funny word purloined. You know what that means?"

The little girl shakes her head vigorously, holding the blanket they'd given her close to her shoulders. Robin sits up, tapping his finger against his chin.

"Hmmm, you know the word steal?"

"Mmhmm," the girl murmurs, smiling up at him.

"Well, it's like a fancy word for steal. This guy just, like, took her. How un-asterous is that?"

She blinks up at him. He pauses, and reaches back to rub his neck. "Right. Right. That would make even less sense than asterous."

" _Bomb_!"

Robin turns to watch the crowd of people surge away toward them. They come screaming past, a mess of tangled bodies and limbs. Robin unsnaps his cape and swings it around the girl, pushing her to the ground. She lands face first in the dirt, but completely covered by the cape. He doesn't even duck. He jumps over the log they'd been seated on. There must be more people. He's right. There are.

He runs toward where the first crater is, and sure enough they've uncovered another bomb. He hears someone yelling at him, but he sees a fallen man. He's partially covered in dirt and Robin doesn't hesitate to run toward him, to make sure he can get him out. They're too close to the bomb for either of them to make it. But if someone has to, it'll be the civilian. Always the civilian.

He pulls the man out, they're both tugging and there are people yelling and Robin thinks his ears are ringing. For some reason the song keeps playing in his head. Over and over. The daring young man. Robin pushes it back. "Get out of here!" he yells, throwing his hands to push the man forward. He stumbles away, landing in the reaching arms of more civilians. Robin spins around one last moment. Everything has taken seconds and then…

There's a blinding light and a large boom and then a rush of hot air. He's been thrown back. Past the log. Past the little girl. His face and body are hot and he thinks he can feel his skin simmering. He lands on broken concrete, something hot is sticking in him and his head snaps against metal. Smoke billows up into the air and then… nothing. But the girl is safe.

He never found out her name. He hopes her parents are okay.

* * *

There's a faint beeping around him. It's like a humming and he knows, arguably, that there shouldn't be beeping at the circus. The circus never _beeped_. It's a funny thought, but simply not plausible. He turns back to his routine. There's no one there. There's just the swing of the bar and himself, but nothing makes noise. The beeping gets louder.

He just wants to practice in peace.

He glances up at the roof of the circle tent. It's fading in color, as if the red is being bleached from above. The whole scene begins to take on a pale color, like a faded photograph. Eventually, the top of the tent completely fades to nothing, the lines of the tent becoming the lines of ceiling. The beeping gets louder and Dick is blinking his eyes, not even knowing when they closed. He tries to move, but pain shoots up his leg and he can't breathe because there's a tube down his throat.

His eyes wide, panic beginning to settle in. The beeping gets louder. He was just in the circus. Were his parents okay? The word stills looks faded, papery white and like he's looking throat a thin film. Everything is blurry.

There's a dark spot that springs into his vision, a dark spot that is speaking at him. No. Not at him, but in his direction. It's leaning toward something that's white too. And then it disappears. Dick tries to get up, but then there's pressure on his shoulders. Where was he? How did he get here?

Where are his parents?

A flash of blinding light bounces around his vision and then the top of a circus tent. Dick blinks it out of view. There's red hair above him, leaning over. The dark spot in his vision suddenly becomes more humanoid.

"M…om," he croaks. She was okay?

He doesn't find out.

* * *

He wakes again, more coherent. There's no tube down his throat this time, and he's sitting a little higher up. He's somewhere. Well, he's not sure. His vision is still blurry and faded. He thinks about old movies and… photographs. He shifts around a little. He's in a bed, not a comfy one, but it feels okay. He shifts around.

"Dick? I need you to stop moving?"

He blinks up, trying to see around the film in his eyes. The shape is a little pale and with dark hair.

"Dad?" he asks, tugging at his arm to reach forward.

"Not dad," the voice says, leaning back a little. "It's… Bruce." There's a pause before he says the name, as if he's unsure.

Dick blinks again, tilting his head. Bruce. Yes. That's a name he knows. He nods a little. "Oh. Okay," he heaves in a breath. "Yes."

"Dick?" Something blurry waves over the film and his face. "Do you feel any pain?"

He tugs away, confused. Pain? His leg feels weird, almost… muffled. It's a little fuzzy, like when you take a shower in the winter and then after a while you can't touch anything really soft. Your hands feel dry and fuzzy. He twists his leg a little, and something weird and… sharp shoots up his leg. He doesn't even realize he's shouted until there's something putting pressure on his leg and someone saying something to him.

He doesn't know what it is.

He just wants to practice alone.

* * *

The third time he wakes up, the film is still there but a little faded. He can see a little clearer. There's a beeping again, but it's stable and constant. He turns his head to look around. A hospital room?

"Dick?"

He jerks his head in the other direction.

"Bruce," he says clearly. "Bruce. You… where?"

He feels something resting on his shoulder, and then a hand or something swiping his hair from his forehead. "How do you feel?"

It is Bruce then. That voice. He knows that voice. It's gruffer and a little sadder than normal.

"Fuzzy?" Dick replies, blinking away. His vision is still blurry and faded and he feels a little weird. Shouldn't he be seeing clearly?

Bruce lets out a choked sort of quiet sob. It's barely noticeable, but Dick catches on even if his ears are ringing. Dick feels Bruce rub his head again and then pull away. A chair to his left creaks noisily as someone, presumably Bruce, sits in it.

"What do you remember?"

Dick blinks a little, trying to clear his head. His vision is beginning to annoy him, so he closes his eyes instead. "A bomb? The… girl? Is she o'kay?"

"Your cape saved her. He hair was a little singed and the bottom of her shoes burned a little. But she'll be okay. They found her parents. Dick, are you sure you're alright?" Bruce sounds very concerned, and Dick feels the man lean closer. He's not sure how but he can.

"Vision," Dick slurs. "Eyes."

Bruce stands up quickly, shoving the chair into the wall behind him. "Leslie?"

Dick winces at the sharpness in Bruce's voice, pulling away. He keeps his eyes closed, even when he hears shuffling movement and someone pulling up alongside him. Finger forces his eyes open, and he follows suit. There's a bright light in his eyes, moving between them.

"No reaction in the pupils," a woman's soft voice says. It's a little panicked though. "Flash blindness. There's no damage to the retina or cornea, but his vision is going to be a little blurry for a while. Dick, can you see me?"

"Blob," he says. It must've been a couple of minutes though, because there's no sound from either the adults until Bruce mumbles something that the ringing covers up.

Dick blinks them out of existence.

* * *

Kid Flash watches as Robin is thrown into hard concrete and metal. His head snapping back like a ricochet. He feels his body still, and it's the stillest he's been in a long time, and then he's moving. Tripping over metal and pipes and rocks and dirt. There's a lot of screaming, people are pointing. The little girl that Robin saved is covered in his cape and is pulling herself from the dirt. She's crying, standing up and stumbling toward Robin.

"Hey!" Wally hears Artemis yell, "Hey, hey, hey! Come toward me, toward me!"

The girl turns a little, probably toward where the Archer is standing. She begins to move toward her and then Wally moves her from his peripheral and is leaning over Dick.

"Oh god," he whispers, choking a little on the words. "Oh god." There's a metal pipe twisted through Robin's thigh. His head is bleeding a lot, and there's a lot of dark dripping red that Wally wants to turn away from his friend. But he doesn't. Robin's arm is twisted a little, and clearly one finger is broken. The boy almost flew thirty feet in the air from a flash bomb that was still burning hot metal around him. He's a little burned in places where his costume is ripped bad enough that there's enough pale skin showing. His head is cut too, but Wally isn't sure if that's from before the bomb or not.

He moves forward to grab Robin, but then M'gann is there.

"Wait," she says, her voice a shaky. "There's civilians."

"But Robin, he—."

"Kid Flash," she whispers, bringing him down to reality a little. "I know, please, I know. But our duty—."

"I have to help him, we can't. I can't just… I can't leave him," Wally exclaims. He tries to yell, but his voice isn't any higher than a croak. He feels shot and tired. "We won't get him out in time, M'gann."

The girl reaches forward to cup Robin's cheeks, a quiet sob escaping her lips. "I know, I know. Just… we can't move him like this."

Wally nods, and then turns and looks around. But the EMT's that had been there already were moving around and already occupied. Wally wants to scream. Is no one paying attention? Heroes get hurt! They die too!

A hand rests on his shoulder. It's Artemis. Her face looks so tired. "Called the league," she says. "They're on their way. Kaldur is… helping. We need to go too. I'll stay here with Robin."

"But—!"

"Wally," she says sharply. "My field training for medical shit is, well, shit. You can help, so can M'gann. I'll stay with Robin. I'll keep the blood in. Go."

"He won't get help in time," Wally argues. "The civilians don't… they don't—," and he knew he couldn't say they didn't matter. They mattered so much, especially to Robin and to all of them, because they were heroes. It's why they did what they did. It was their job. And they mattered to Wally too. "He won't get help in time," he practically sobs.

M'gann chokes and turns away, flying toward a small group of civilians.

"Wally, you're not helping. Panicking. He… go find someone, I don't care, go! He's my brother too."

"Yeah," he whispers. He turns without looking at Robin, because he already can't get the imagine out of his head. He runs then, away. Toward help. Toward anything that isn't dark red and the colors of a Robin.

Artemis turns to look at the blood, climbing as softly as she could onto the concrete. She can't risk shifting it. She hopes that, when she goes to bed that night, the last memory of Robin that will stick to her is him singing to the little girl.

* * *

Dick wakes up again. This time, he can see. It's not hazy. Or foggy. He looks around himself. He has to be in the cave. There's a lot less white and more concrete. For some reason, that makes his head ache more. He reaches up to rub his head.

His hair is… shorter. A lot shorter. It must've been buzzed. He moves his fingers to touch his forehead. There's a scar there.

How long has he been out?

He reaches down the side of the bed to feel for a buzzer. Aha. There it is. He clicks it and then waits. It isn't long before the door is opening.

"Dick?"

It's… M'gann actually. She's in her human form now, probably not to scare him? He isn't sure. She's leaning around the door as if she's afraid to come in. Slowly, she slips in and shuts the door behind herself. "I heard the buzzer… well… Connor did but… are you okay?"

He feels a little woozy but otherwise alright. "Bomb," he says. "And then… I don't know what happened." He pauses. "Did you call me Dick?"

The girl blushes deeply. "Oh, well, Mr. Batman told us that we could… that your name was Dick. I don't understand but he says it makes sense if you lived eighty years ago."

"Yeah," he agrees. "Yeah it does." He tried to move, but she pushes him down.

"Not yet! I need to call Black Canary or… or Dr. Thompkins!" she spins and pulls the door open.

"Wait! How long was I out?"

But she's gone.

* * *

He wakes again. This time, the entire team is there.

They all bounce up as he opens his eyes.

"Guys?" he slurs, blinking around at them.

"Dick!" Wally exclaims, suddenly appearing in Dick's line of vision. "You're awake! Did you know how… how scared we were?"

"Cave?" he asks.

"Yeah, you were taken here like a month ago," Wally says, and then slaps a hand over his mouth. Dick reaches up to feel his hair.

"Wally!" another familiar voice exclaims.

"Whoops."

"I figured," Dick says dryly, "When I felt my hair. Is everything okay? I was out for a month?"

The team tenses up a little. M'gann turns away and Raquel seems interested in her pants. Artemis wilts a little, falling back down into her chair. And Kaldur and Wally glance at each other almost knowingly. Only Connor seems uninterested, but Dick can see he's tense. Zatanna bites her lip. Dick shifts awkwardly in his chair.

"Three months, actually," Artemis finally says. She seems tired. Her hair is longer than Dick remembers. Which makes sense. The last time he saw her was three months ago.

"Three months," he whispers, and then wilts back into the fluffy pillows. "Wow. Where… where's Bruce?"

They glance at each other.

"He went home last night. He should be back soon. You've woken up more frequently," M'gann says, smiling a little in encouragement.

"I did?" Dick asks, and he honestly can't remember. There's a few blurry moments. He remembers Leslie and Bruce, and then Bruce another time. There's a faint memory of M'gann coming in, and then… he's not sure what else. "I couldn't see right?"

Artemis winced. "Can you see now? Dr. Thompkins said it wasn't permanent."

Dick blinks. "I can, yeah. Man, I wasn't even awake for most of my recovery."

"There's still a while to go, Dick," Kaldur said finally. "You've been asleep for three months. Recovering very slowly. You'll have some catching up to do."

Dick's pretty sure that the extent of his wounds is still out of his grasp. He can't tell, maybe it was because he was asleep, but he doesn't feel like this is the worse he's had. He hasn't heard it all yet, he's not sure if he does. So, instead, he moves to swing his legs over the bed frame. The team lunges into action, and Wally and Artemis are the ones pushing him into bed.

"What?" he yells, and then winces because his ears are ringing.

"You just woke up after three months!" Artemis snaps, shoving the blanket over him like she's aggressively tucking him in. "Get back in bed!"

"I'm fine!"

"Dick," Wally says, and Dick knows he's about to get a lecture which is stupid because Wally is barely two years older. "You're still really sick. And tired. And I can see it in your eyes you think you're fine because you've had worse—."

"This is why I wear a mask," he interrupts. Wally keeps going.

"—but you need to stay in bed, seriously. Just a for a while longer."

Dick hesitates and then his shoulders fall. "Fine."

He doesn't argue, because he knows they're right. He knows they are, and it's dumb. So he listens to them talk to him about life and everything he's missed for the last three months. He eventually fades into a quiet sleep. He's fine.

Everything will be fine.

* * *

When Bruce finally comes to take him home, the walk up to the stairs wears him out. The walk up the manor is tiring and he feels his ears ringing. He's a little woozy. But it's okay. He's okay.

All is well.

 ** _Fin._**


	5. A Brief Lapse of Gravity

**Summary:** Robin isn't used to not being balanced.

 **Anonymous asked:** in the middle of a fight klarion does something to robin that takes away his gracefulness/causes him to be clumsy and the teams has to figure PF how to reverse it temporarily clutsy/awkward robin would just be so funny to me

 **Response:** Hey! Sorry this took so long for me to get too. I've been so busy with school! Here it is, and I don't think it's quite what you were looking for but I hope you like it! I definitely plan/want to continue this.

* * *

Robin rolled back onto his feet just as the spike of electrical magic exploded in his face. He dodged right, pulling his cape around him to keep the searing heat off his back. They really hadn't been expecting Klarion to be there, but the Lord of Chaos was protecting something, flinging his magic and calling them all 'kiddies' while they floundered around and tried to get rid of the stupid cat, Teekl.

"Isn't he a League priority villain or something?" Kid Flash asked as he zipped up to Robin's side, pulling him away from the small fire that now cackled behind them. They both ducked as a rock flew over their heads toward the force field around Klarion's personal space.

Robin wiped the blood from his face, scowling. "We can handle it, come on, I've got a plan."

It wasn't so much of a plan than it was a halfhearted idea based on previous battles, but it could work and hopefully allow Artemis or one of them to grab a hold of the cat and get rid of the damn thing so Klarion couldn't materialize anymore. If Robin could get on the things back, then maybe he'd be able to hold it still long enough for someone to knock it out or decapitate it— he had no qualms at this point of just killing the damn thing.

Well, okay, maybe he did, but that wasn't the point right now.

He dragged Kid Flash off to the side, ducking behind a thrown and half melted car. It was probably from the beginning of the battle when M'gann had been blasted back and Superboy had flipped his lid and thrown the S.T.A.R Labs van halfway across the now deserted freeway. Kid was beet faced and sweating, his suit torn across his shoulder. But there wasn't any blood, and so that was good.

Robin quickly relayed his plan to the speedster, wincing as the explosions sound behind them.

"What the fuck!" Artemis screeched, and then they heard Klarion laughing and the twang of Artemis' bow.

Robin winced a little and gripped Kid Flash's shoulder. "Go, now. I got this," he said.

"Better not die," Kid muttered, but picked himself up and zipped off anyway.

Just as Robin was about to stand up, the rumbling of an engine took to the air. But it wasn't coming from behind him, where the battle was, it was above them. A Javelin, one of the League's ships. That meant that someone had reported seeing Klarion and the League had gotten the notification. He rolled his eyes. Great, that meant they'd be chewed out for not calling the League themselves.

He scowled then, and unlatched a pocket for his smoke bombs. Klarion might not be bothered by them, but the cat would. Hopefully. He leapt up and threw them over the van. Smoke erupted around them, filling up the darkness and covering him from the light of the streetlamps. He lurched forward, feeling a little green, but flipped into the fray below. Above him, he could make out the form of the Javelin descending around them. He sprinted ahead, leaping over a puddle of gasoline and jamming his Bo into the ground and flipping over Superboy to where the cat was.

It was in its giant Sabertooth form, and the second Robin made contact with his back, the thing arched it's back and roared.

"Hold still!" he snapped, clutching the fur in his hands and leaning forward to keep himself steady. "KF! Now would be a good time!"

"Hey!" Klarion shrieked, "Get off my Teekl!" The smoke was already clearing from the Javelin's engines, and Robin could see the blue force field surrounding the Lord of Chaos was dissipating. Superboy roared, launching himself forward at the being. Klarion dodged left, rolling back and then straightening himself and his clothes as the clone barreled into a lamppost.

"Not so elegant," he exclaimed, grinning snidely. He turned to where Teekl was trying, and failing, to rip Robin of her back, but he held on for dear life. If he let go, he wouldn't be able to activate his flash bomb. KF was supposed to knock the cat out, but that didn't seem to be happening. Robin ducked into the cats fur as a lightning bolt of magic flew past his face. Zatanna leapt forward, screaming her own magic.

Klarion laughed. "Poor, poor kiddies." His appearance began to look more and more demonic, his eyes glowing a deep red. Just as he thrust his hand out, Wonder Woman jumped down and slammed her shield into his fist. The chaos being was flung back. Teekl roared, bounding after Wonder Woman.

"Robin! Get off!"

He wasn't actually sure who was talking, but it sound kinda familiar. It didn't matter. He had to stop the cat before it reached Klarion or Wonder Woman. He tightened his legs around the animals torso, squeezing his thighs so hard he thought he might explode, and let go of the fur. The ride became unsurprisingly more bumpy. He reached into his belt and held the bomb close to the animals fur.

Wonder Woman was steadying herself, shouting at the other Leaguers to grab Klarion. Superboy joined her, and together they held their fists up, ready to fight.

"Robin! Now would be a good time to do whatever it was you planned!" the clone hollered.

He clicked the button and as the beeping rapidly decreased, he heard a shouted, animalistic, "No!" and then was flying off the cat. He slammed into the ground and Klarion suddenly materialized in front of him. He picked up the Boy Wonder, his grin stretched thin like a clowns and his eyes a glowing deep red. Robin squirmed, but it was too late to do anything.

"You want to destroy my Teekl so bad, fine. Then I'll make it harder for you to get your own bearings!" He spoke some unintelligible words and then bent down, flinging Robin across the pavement. A bright light erupted around them and suddenly Robin knew no more.

][][][

The man that landed where Robin should have was taller, muscular, and definitely wearing a costume. It was mostly grey, with a blue bird along his chest, and he was wearing a domino mask too. He was completely passed out, but breathing. M'gann landed down on the ground, making sure that the man was okay. Klarion had grabbed the cat and disappeared, leaving a half-burning freeway and a lot of wreckage. Kid Flash was instantly at her side, hands hovering over the man.

"What happened to Robin?"

"I don't know, Klarion blasted him back and then," she gestured over the man's still form. "He appeared."

"This has to be some trick," Kid said, scowling down. "You think he knows anything about where Robin is?"

"He hasn't even woken up yet," M'gann said, biting her lip with worry. "But if Robin disappeared…"

Black Canary suddenly appeared at their side. She didn't kneel down and her anger was evident. Both of the members of the Team winced, glancing away. They should've called the League the moment Klarion appeared, but they thought they could handle it. Now Robin was gone, and this man was left in his place. "We need to get back to the cave. You all have a lot of explaining to do."

"What about the man?"

Black Canary's anger faded and she kneeled down to reach under the man's throat. Breathing, and alive. "He… is suspect, of course. But Wonder Woman and I will take him up to the Watchtower. He was left here by Klarion, that means that he's the League worry now." She paused. "I'll keep you updated though."

"And Robin?" M'gann asked, her eyes glancing over the team as they slowly pulled themselves out of the wreckage. Artemis's bow was completely snapped in half, and Aqualad had been out most of the fight once the fires had started burning. M'gann had luckily been able to offer aid from above, but the leader of the team had been forced to retreat.

The woman sighed, running her fingers through her hair. "We'll deal with that later. When this man wakes up, we should have answers."

They both nodded and then picked themselves up. "We'll be at the cave," Wally whispered, turning and grabbing M'gann to make their way toward the rest of the team. The Bioship was parked some ways away, away from the freeway and back toward where they'd originally been doing recon. Batman would not only be unhappy that they'd been spotted and managed to blow up another piece of state property, but that they'd manage to lose Robin.

Artemis looked over both of them, her brow furrowing with concern. "Where's Robin?"

Wally winced and his shoulder sagged.

][][][

"Is he secure?" Diana asked, looking over the Javelin's small jail 'room' with Dinah by her side.

"He's not getting out of there," Dinah said, sighing. "I just hope that when he does wake up, he's willing to give us answers."

"He appears as if he is a hero, yes? He should cooperate," Diana said. She swung her sword around and his the tip against the palm of her hand. "And should he not, he'll feel my sword at his throat."

Dinah winced. "I have a feeling Bruce might want to get to him first either way."

Diana seemed to juggle her thoughts for a moment. "Richard means more to most people than just him. If the boy is gone, then I will want to piece of this man too. And Klarion." She sheathed the sword on her back and scowled deeply at the man held down, his arms tied behind his back and his apparent utility belt hung up outside the door.

Dinah nodded, and then clicked the button to close the door. The metal door lowered shut and hissed as it latched closed. The two made their way to the ships control, and Dinah took the Javelin and pointed it toward the sky. Neither spoke as they docked in the Watchtower, both electing to keep the silence together. Slowly, they opened the door to where the prisoner was. He was still unconscious, muttering softly to himself unintelligible words.

"He's waking up," Diana said and then strode forward.

"Diana, wait!" Dinah protested, but the Amazon swung her elbow across the man's face. His head snapped to the side and then he fell completely limp. "Oh, my god. He's dead. You killed him."

Diana rested her head against his chest. "Alive! Let's take him to the med bay."

"How'd it go down there? Kids okay?" It was Barry, cowl down and grin wide, standing at the dock with his arms crossed. His frown faded when he saw their worried faces, and then he was striding forward. "What's wrong— whoa, who's this?"

"Not sure," Dinah answered as she hefted the prisoner onto her shoulder. Diana made up the other side, gripping the man and standing tall. He was taller than Black Canary, and the same height as Diana. It made for an awkward position. "Robin… was blasted away by Klarion. This man appeared instead, so we're taking him in to questioning."

Barry ran a hand through his blonde hair. "Um. Gotcha. Should I get Bats?"

The two women glanced at each other. Diana sighed. "Let us get this over with."

][][][

Black Canary slowly lowered the pad of paper as the man groaned. He jerked his arms up, and the chains barely let him move them up an inch before he realized he was shackled to the bed.

"What?" he rasped, and then through his mask found where she was standing, eyes narrowed. "Black, argh, Canary?"

"Who are you?" she demanded. "Do you know where Robin is?"

"Who am…?" he looked around the med bay and furrowed his brow. "Wait." He cleared his throat again. "Robin? I am Robin."

Black Canary stopped short, not prepared for that sort of confession. "Robin disappeared in a fight with Klarion. You appeared in his place. Do you know why that is?"

"What the… no, I swear you have to listen… what's wrong with my voice?" He reached to touch his throat, but the bindings on his wrist shook and he scowled down at them. "I think something's wrong."

"It is, we're missing Robin," she replied. And then sighed, turning away and heading towards the door. "You're going to tell us what you know."

"Wait, where are you—!"

The door swung shut behind her, and she turned to Batman and Wonder Woman. Batman was frowning deeply, glaring at the man in the bed. The man's head fell back against the white pillow and he pulled at his wrist bindings halfheartedly. The whites of his mask disappeared— he was closing his eyes. Dinah turned toward them, shrugging her shoulders. "What do you think?"

"I'll talk to him," Batman said, "but not yet. Let him wait. I'm going to go debrief the team."

He disappeared with a swipe from his cape, away from the two women and down the hall. Dinah titled her head back and scowled at the ceiling. Why couldn't the kids just call them? Was it that hard? Were they that prideful? A part of her understood that if she were in their position, she would do tremendously worse and probably wouldn't have called the League either.

Mistakes happen.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak again, Diana was pulling her out of the way of a fist. The man, having escaped his bindings, rolled backward. But it was as if his center of gravity were off and he tripped and landed on his back.

"Shoot!" and he rolled out of the way of Wonder Woman's foot. The floor crushed beneath the weight and she slung out her sword and slammed it on the ground. The man scurried off the floor, barely keeping his foot as he sprinted off down the hallway.

"Dinah!" the Amazon snapped, and slammed herself into the door frame as Dinah opened her mouth and canary screeched. The man barely made it around the corner as the walls and floor began to fall apart. "Get him!"

"On it!" Black Canary snapped, sprinting down the hall after him.

Batman and Flash suddenly appeared around the corner.

"What happened?" Bruce demanded.

"The prisoner has escaped," Diana said, swinging her sword around. "He is headed down the East Wing."

Flash took off instantly down the hall after Dinah. Diana turned on Batman. "We're not losing him."

"He might know what Klarion did to Robin."

"He might only be a distraction," she said, voicing an earlier thought she'd kept to herself. "To keep us from finding Robin so that our attention is on him. Klarion is known for his tricks."

"And I'm known for finding the truth," Bruce replied, his voice steady. He paused only a hair's breath. "Let's head back this way. We should be able to meet him at the end of the hall is Flash hasn't already found him."

In fact, Flash had found the man. They were squaring off, neither moving as they waited.

"You should probably turn yourself in. You might need some help getting of this thing," Flash quipped, his smile tight as he looked the man up and down.

"Help?" the man rasped, "Am I on the Watchtower?"

Barry frowned, jerking back. "Wait, how to do you know about—?"

"I told you," No-name snapped, "I think you guys are mistaken."

"That you know where Robin is?"

"I know exactly where he is, I am— oof!"

Barry barreled into the man and picked him up off the ground and then slammed his fist, regular old human speed, into his jaw. "Listen, punk, I don't normally get all Batman on villains, but I might make an exception for this kid."

No-name groaned. "Ow," he muttered.

"Flash."

Barry's grip loosened in suprise and then suddenly he found himself on the ground. The man had barely managed to flip the speedster over and bring his foot around into his chest. But his balance was off, and they both went tumbling to the floor. Before No-name could start running off again, Batman was grabbing him by his uniform and slamming into a wall. Diana shouted something, but it wasn't to stop the Gotham hero.

Barry almost felt bad for the guy. But then… no he didn't.

Batman dragged the man along the wall and then leaned up into his personal space. The man squirmed, but he either didn't know his strength or was just fighting for the fun of it, because Batman wasn't letting go. The struggle stopped and the man stilled, but he wasn't unconscious. He stared, wide eyed, down at Batman. It was clear he was afraid.

"Listen punk," Batman growled, "You appeared in my sons place, and now he's missing. Klarion put you there, so you either talk and walk out of here with your face intact, or you're in for one hell of a beating."

The man struggled to breath, to say something.

Batman growled and slammed the man's head into the wall.

"Batman!" Diana said, reaching forward to stop the man.

"He needs to talk!"

"He's trying! You're not giving him the chance, let the man breath!" Barry shouted.

Batman stilled, as if deciding if he really wanted to hear what No-name had to say. Finally, he let go, and the man fell to the ground. He grasped at his throat and heaved heavy breathes. They watched in silence.

"I know… where Robin is…," he said finally, his breaths long and deep.

Batman's hand twitched. "Talk."

"Mmm.. trying," he replied, leaning back onto his heels. His hands and shoulders dropped to his side and he held his head back. His brow was furrowed though, and he actually looked a little irritated. Irritated and afraid. "I know. I know where he is." He lifted his head up. "He's me. I'm Robin."

There's a long pause before Barry leans back and rocks on his heels. "I call bullshit."

No-name-fake-Robin lifts his hand and jabs his finger at Batman. "That's Bruce Wayne." And then he jabs his thumb at himself. "M' Richard Grayson." And then he passed out.

Batman slowly walked forward and kneeled down, sliding his finger underneath the mask the man was wearing. Slowly the glue started to pull off and Batman removed the mask, lying it gently on the ground as the older face of Dick Grayson appeared before them. It was badly bruised now, from not only Diana's elbow punch but Barry's and Bruce's fists.

"Oh shit," Barry muttered. "Oh, shit, shit, shit."

Diana frowned. "That is… interesting."

"Language," Bruce muttered to Barry. He ran his fingers over Dick's face and then slowly picked him up. "Whatever Klarion did, we have to figure out a way to reverse it."

Barry frowned, appearing in front of him. He touched the boys shoulder gently before he pulled away, walking backwards as Bruce moved forward back toward med bay. "What'd he even do? Make him older?"

Diana was on his other side, her stride matching his as she stared down at Dick's still form.

Bruce looked down at the face. For a split second, he'd been sure he was staring into the face of John Grayson. But that man had died five years ago, and now that Bruce was really looking the face over, he found that there was more Mary Grayson. And well, it was just so much more obvious as he looked his sons face over. But it was also, inexplicably, Dick's face. He was more than just two people put together. Bruce looked away in sudden guilt— Dick must be terrified.

"It appears so," Bruce confirmed.

They turned the corner and Dinah standing there, tapping her foot. She straightened a little when she saw them.

"You caught him?"

"It's Robin," Diana said. "Klarion changed… his age, it appears."

Dinah's shoulders dropped suddenly and her face grew long and confused. "What? That— oh my god."

One look at his face must've confirmed their words, and so she quickly turned and thrust the door open, ushering them all inside.

"Hook him up to the heart monitor and let's get a blood test started. Barry?"

"Already on it," the speedster said, rushing around and getting a syringe ready. Bruce stepped forward and ran his fingers through Dick's hair.

He looked so much older. "Can we get an age? Something to go by?"

"We'll figure it out, Bruce," Diana's voice said. She appeared across from him and reached across to gently touch his shoulder. It was brief, but he relaxed a little.

"I slammed him against a wall, Diana," he sighed, "I threatened him."

"You didn't know," she said sympathetically, "I elbowed him in the face inside the Javelin." She reached down and touched his cheek where the nasty purple bruise was forming. Her touch lasted longer than it did on Bruce's shoulder, but then she let her hand fall and she sighed. "This poor boy. He must've been so scared."

Bruce looked away. "Dinah, where are we on the blood dialysis?"

"It'll take some time, but I've done some preliminary scans. Biologically? He's around 23, 24," Dinah replied, handing Bruce the tablet. He gripped it in his hands, but didn't really see.

"Why couldn't he fight?" he asked, voice tight.

"His center of balance is way off," Dinah sighed, leaning over and taking Dick's pulse. She paused for a minute and then wrote down her findings. "He's not used to this body, or… I mean. We could be dealing with time travel. This could be a future version of Dick, and he might be disorientated but…"

"You don't think that's the case?" Bruce asked, already knowing why. He needed to talk this out. He needed to focus on something else.

Dinah sighed and leaned back, folding her arms. "No, I don't. When he first woke up, he complained about his voice. He wasn't used to it. It was like he was hearing it for the first time."

Bruce looked down. "We'll figure this out. We will."

 ** _To be continued…_**

* * *

 **This will be continued separately in another fic.**


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